Inspirational Quote

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."
-Bertha Calloway

I don't know about you but with only two more days until Christmas I am feeling a bit stressed. Thinking I will get all the stuff done on my list before now and then will only happen when pigs fly. I have decided to re-adjust my sails. Slow down and enjoy my step son who had me laughing and doubled over in Home Depot last night. Enjoy my baby who can sit up from a reclined position now all on his own. And enjoy my husband being home for some quality time. What I get done. I get done.

Merry Christmas.
Quote is courtesy of www.getalifethatdoesntsuck.com

Hope for a Family

One of our advent activities this year is to sponsor a child.

• To impact circumstances in someone else's life.
• To show God's love and acceptance.
• To be an active example of compassion to my children and others.

In some cases the decision to sponsor is the easy part. The number of child sponsorship charities out there is bewildering. Its tough to know which to choose. While doing my personal research I found an amazing site that ranks charities. I know that sounds a bit weird to rank charities but seriously, we need to know where our money is going.

After some clicking and reading, I think we are going to be sponsoring through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging.

94% of the money donated goes directly to your child, not a general fund, but the exact child you sponsor.You will recieve at least 2 letter a year as well as an updated picture. CFCA suggests you also write to encourage your friend. Even trips are arranged for you to meet your child. Like other sponsor sites, it allows you to search by birth date or gender. Unlike so many others it also offers you the option to sponsor the aging or even the possibility of your donation benefiting an entire family!

Using What You Got: Re-potting Rosemary

Well it seems to be "one of those days" for me and my baby. He needs me and that is all there is to it so I am putting aside my crushing desire to get Christmas stuff done. Along with the design to clean my house until it shines and sit in a rocking chair holding my sleeping baby. I guess that isn't so bad.

I thought I would post about using what you got, which I do a lot of. There is only so much stuff my tiny house can hold and only so much money in the pocket book. At the very end of summer, a neighbor came over and gave us a bunch of raggedy plants she had been given that was going to be thrown in the trash. It consisted of two beat up Rosemary plants that were never planted and a bunch of Spanish onions.

The onions got planted and will hopefully make it to spring and the Rosemary... well they sat upside down for a week or two blown over by the wind. Then another couple in the shade and some with no water on my outdoor swing with a water proof awning. I finally decided I better do something with them just before our first really snow and brought them in.

I love terrariums and beautiful potted plants but my house is fairly low light for growing much indoors. I thought it was a long shot to re-pot the Rosemary but worth it since they were free. Here is how I did it:

Found two "vases" I liked. Found potting soil in garage. Found "grit" for chickens. Found two beat up Rosemary plants.

Place towel or newspaper down on surface to protect it from a major mess. Get your dirt ready. Get your plant ready and start filling around the plant with dirt. Pack the dirt down because there will be settling. I added a bit of water for that process to help.

Add some "grit" to the top of the dirt to make it look "pretty". Find a sunny spot, water regularly and hope the poor, beat up transplants make it.

Guess what! They have new growth already. I am so thrilled that I might plant some of my other herbs early to have for winter cooking. You can also buy (fairly cheaply) potted herbs at your grocery store and re-pot those as you wish. My local Marc's has basil, cilantro, and parsley for about $3.00 each.

How do you use what you have?

Christmas Giving: Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog

At this point Christmas is 9 days away! Yes, 9 days. Maybe you have those last hard to give to people on your shopping list and you are completely stumped for ideas. Maybe you are like me and have an important family member who can't afford to give gifts this year and so refuses to receive them. Or maybe you are looking for some charity to donate to. An inspiration to your family to remind them to give generously to those less fortunate and as we all know those less fortunate are growing swiftly all around us.

Idea:
Check out this year's Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog. I have received this catalog in the mail for years and I have donated in the past. This year though I am finally stepping out and using it for gift giving in addition to donating. I would be honored if in lieu of gift(s) people would donate to a cause in this catalog that they know I care about so I hope others feel the same. This would be money well spent and that would perhaps leave a lasting legacy of good to my fellow men (women, children).

In addition, as I posted earlier this week regarding my WRING acronym, a gift donation was part of our families "holiday spirit" and we chose two causes that really hit close to home for 2010.

First:
"The birth of a child should be a cause for celebration, but many women in developing countries are filled with fear as the big event approaches. Tragically, hundreds of young mothers and thousands of newborns die every day from preventable causes. With proper training and equipment, a Christian birth attendant can save countless lives and reach young families with the Good News of God’s love. A gift can provide specialized instruction, basic obstetric supplies, or even antiviral medicine to protect newborns from contracting HIV from their mothers." - Catalog Quote

This year I was pregnant and had a child! I could rest assured, having excellent care and plenty of information to learn from. Our family wanted to reach out to women who didn't have that assurance.

Second:
"Without an education, this little Sri Lankan boy was probably doomed to a life of hard labor, hunger, and hopelessness. Around the globe, Samaritan’s Purse helps thousands of children like this through a variety of education and literacy projects that bring hope to impoverished communities and offer local believers an effective means of sharing the Gospel. A gift can provide a month’s tuition or school supplies, enabling an eager student to learn of Jesus Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3, NIV)." - Catalog Quote

This year the importance of an education has also been a theme. Not only have I started to think about what I want my newborn son to learn, where I want him to learn, etc. I have had the joy of watching him discover the world via fun classes at the library and at home in play.

I can rest assured that I can teach him to read and write if there were no other educational opportunities for him (but of course there are). In addition, my step son has struggled with issues at school and watching him deal with those struggles raises the awareness as to how important an education really is to the future of an individual. So our family decided that helping a child to read and write was so very important.

Perhaps you will find the perfect gift for those you love in this catalog too.

Merry Christmas!

One of those days...

Christmas is barely a week away. I've gotten half (ok, not even half) of my shopping-slash-homemade stuff done. The boys have had two snow days this week which means the house has brief moments of neatness but mostly we are living in one big craft/play area. Laundry is on "bare necessities" mode until the gifts are done. And supper has been either the giant roasted turkey or seemingly bottomless pot of chili in the fridge. To top this off, I have a teething baby. A baby who only wants her mama. Thanks to her and her four older siblings, through teething I have learned to make supper with one hand, to recite a library of children's books by memory and how a warm bath can improve any baby mood.

But I know that soon those teeth will be in.

Soon she'll be too big for baths in the sink.

Soon no one will care that I know "goodnight moon" by heart.

There will always be sinks of dishes and baskets of laundry but my baby will soon no longer be a baby! I want to appreciate her and let her know through my actions that I love her... and her inquisitive-to-the-point-of-annoying sister and so-messy-it-hurts brothers. So I'm sure as you are reading this the girls and I are cuddled on the couch reading the same book for the billionth time... and I'm lovin' every minute!